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aenigmatite

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Aenigmatite, also known as cossyrite after Cossyra, the ancient name of Pantelleria, is a sodium, iron, titanium inosilicate mineral. The chemical formula is Na2Fe2+5TiSi6O20 and its structure consists of single tetrahedral chains with a repeat unit of four and complex side branches. It forms brown to black triclinic lamellar crystals. It has Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6 and specific gravity of 3.74 to 3.85. Aenigmatite forms a solid-solution series with wilkinsonite, Na2Fe2+4Fe3+2Si6O20.

Key facts

Mineral.tenacity
Brittle
Mineral.name
Aenigmatite
Mineral.image
Aenigmatite - Mineralogisches Museum Bonn2.jpg
Mineral.imagesize
260px
Mineral.caption
Aenigmatite from Kangerdluarsuk, Greenland
Mineral.category
Inosilicates
Mineral.formula
Na2Fe2+5TiSi6O20
Mineral.IMAsymbol
Aen
Mineral.strunz
9.DH.40
Mineral.system
Triclinic
Mineral.class
Pinacoidal () (same H-M symbol)
Mineral.symmetry
P
Mineral.unit cell
a = 10.415(1), b = 10.840(1) c = 8.931(1) [Å]; Z = 2 α = 105.107(4)° β = 96.610(5)° γ = 125.398(4)°
Mineral.color
Velvet-black
Mineral.habit
Poorly developed prismatic crystals, occurring as irregular clusters; pseudomonoclinic
Mineral.twinning
Complex by rotation perpendicular to (01) or about [010] of the pseudomonoclinic cell; polysynthetic
Mineral.cleavage
Good on {010} and {100}
Mineral.fracture
Uneven

via Wikipedia infobox

~3 min read

Encyclopedic overview

2 sections
Contents
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{{infobox mineral | name = Aenigmatite | image = Aenigmatite - Mineralogisches Museum Bonn2.jpg | imagesize = 260px | alt = | caption = Aenigmatite from Kangerdluarsuk, Greenland | category = Inosilicates | formula = Na2Fe2+5TiSi6O20 |IMAsymbol=Aen | molweight = | strunz = 9.DH.40 | dana = | system = Triclinic | class = Pinacoidal () (same H-M symbol) | symmetry = P | unit cell = a = 10.415(1), b = 10.840(1) c = 8.931(1) [Å]; Z = 2 α = 105.107(4)° β = 96.610(5)° γ = 125.398(4)° | color = Velvet-black | colour = | habit = Poorly developed prismatic crystals, occurring as irregular clusters; pseudomonoclinic | twinning = Complex by rotation perpendicular to (01) or about [010] of the pseudomonoclinic cell; polysynthetic | cleavage = Good on {010} and {100} | fracture = Uneven | tenacity = Brittle | mohs = 5.5 | luster = Vitreous to greasy | streak = Reddish brown | diaphaneity = Translucent to opaque | gravity = 3.81 | density = | polish = | opticalprop = Biaxial (+) | refractive = nα = 1.780 – 1.800 nβ = 1.800 – 1.820 nγ = 1.870 – 1.900 | birefringence = δ = 0.090 – 0.100 | pleochroism = X = yellow brown; Y = red-brown; Z = dark brown to black | 2V = Measured: 27° to 55° | dispersion = r 2Fe2+5TiSi6O20 and its structure consists of single tetrahedral chains with a repeat unit of four and complex side branches. It forms brown to black triclinic lamellar crystals. It has Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6 and specific gravity of 3.74 to 3.85. Aenigmatite forms a solid-solution series with wilkinsonite, Na2Fe2+4Fe3+2Si6O20.

Aenigmatite is primarily found in peralkaline volcanic rocks, pegmatites, and granites as well as silica-poor intrusive rocks. It was first described by August Breithaupt in 1865 for an occurrence in the Ilimaussaq intrusive complex of southwest Greenland. Its name comes from αίνιγμα, the Greek word for "riddle".

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “aenigmatite” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.